The Morning Session:

The morning started with a buzz and excitement!

First up was a hearty breakfast that was immediately followed by a procession with Chande, Thamate, the children waving Karnataka flags and women carrying traditional lamps. The group entered the auditorium to be mesmerized by the one-of-a-kind stage layout and decorations that vividly captured all facets of the culture, landmarks & personalities from the state of Karnataka. En-route the group was also witness to a display of ancient artifacts from the state of Karnataka and an elegant photo booth background.

The invocation song “ಶರಣು ಶರಣಯ್ಯ” by Samhita Dixit, Aadya Amarnath, Aditya Hebbar & Pranav Achar kicked of the morning session. Our grand patron sponsors, along with the president and vice-president lit the ceremony lamp, which was followed by the national anthems of USA & India coordinated by Shashikanth Gajaraj and recited by the Sangama youth followed by the “ನಾಡ ಗೀತೆ” coordinated by Rashmi Nanjundappa recited by the students of Taynudi Kannada shale.

A rousing welcome speech by our president Dr. Anil Cashikar was followed by a hilarious drama ”Hi-tech Hyvadhanachar” – directed by Dr. Shankar Sastry with a star-studded cast of Uma Nagabhushan, Radha Srinivas, Shankar Sastry, Latha Viswanath, Raman Srinivas, Jaya Sastry,Ganesh Kishore, Vanitha Venugopal & Nandini Kishore. This was followed by an eye catching dance performance coordinated by Anitha Subramani and choreographed by Manasa Shivamallaiah – to a medley of melodies by the Taynudi Kannada Shale children and youth.

Our graduating “Class of 2025” – Aniket Joshi, Neha Patlu, Saanvi Ramgounda, Sapthaka Upadhya was facilitated by Dr. Teju Nayak and in turn these youngsters decided to entertain the audience to an enthralling dan performance to the hit Dr. Rajkumar number “ಹೊಸ ಬೆಳಕು ಮೂಡುತಿದೆ (Hosa Belaku Mooduthide)”, which in English means – “A New Light Dawns” – a aptly summarizes to the new beginning and adventures these youngsters will take on next in their life!

The youngsters were followed by an energy filled dance performance choreographed by Shweta Pejateya (the artistic director of Boly Rocks) and performed by the adult and teen of Bolly Rocks – to songs from timeless classics to modern chartbusters, taking us back to golden era of Kannada cinema. 

Our very own Guru Sandhya Pandurangi of AnuRag School of Music, took us back in time with the melodious rendition of “ಮೂಡಲ ಮನೆಯ ಮುತ್ತಿನ ನೀರಿನ” from the timeless classic “ಬೆಳ್ಳಿ ಮೋಡ”. 

Dr. Shankar Sastry and Smt. Hema Srikanta – two of our founding members release the 40th anniversary souvenir magazine title “ಸುಗಂಧ”. A copy of which is digitally available to all – click here. 

The souvenir release was followed by a celebratory dance performance by the visiting group from Columbia, MO. The dance was coordinated by Smruthi Sendhil Kumar and choreographed by Koyeli Ganguly.

Dr. Naveen Krishna handed over the “Best Singer Award” to our very talented Guru Seema Kasthuri for the song “ಕಳೆದುಹೋಗಿಹನೆ“ from the short movie “ದ್ವಂದ್ವ“, directed by Girish Dixit. The award was originally presented to her at the Texas Kannada Short Film Festival 2025 held in Houston, TX and was received on her behalf by the team that went to the event from St. Louis.

The energetic and talented children and youth from the St. Louis Kannada community performed a dance rendering of the various traditions in Karnataka to eye catching props and toe tapping songs. The dance performance was coordinated by Jyothi Reddy and choreographed by Sandhya Betnag.

The talented students of Guru Asha Pem from Dances of India school of dance, presented two pleasing and soothing presentation of classical Bharatanatyam dances to the songs – Ganesha, Shiva, Shakthi (Pushpanjali) in Raga : Revathi, Tala : Adi as well as Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma in Raga : Bowli, Tala. Adi.

Guru Maya Aralimatti from Natyamandira School of Dance along with her talented students presented traditional Bharatanatyam dances.

Guru Prasanna Kasthuri from Soorya Dance Company and Soorya Performing Arts presented the dance drama “Anubhava Mantapa” – a brave attempt to build the bridge between ancient thoughts of Vachanas; to present life situation.

The morning session had a resounding close with a heart stopping rendering of ತಮಟೆ – a traditional folk art and musical instrument originating from Karnataka, by the Taynudi Kala Siri Tandha and coordinated by Rakesh Halekote Basavalingappa and Shashikanth Gajaraj! This was 10 minutes of pure thrill and adrenaline …

The “Vote of Thanks” by vice-president and one of the convenors Vinod Shenoy gave credit to the countless and faceless volunteers who provided the needed support to the event, along with the generous contributions that in part made this event possible. A big THANKS again to our donors (who provided unprecedented support financially), our corporate sponsors (Feats Club, Taynudi Kannada School, OTSI, Elite Nine Financial Services, Cube S Construction, VKliQ Photography) and the generous grants from Regional Arts Council of Missouri (RAC) and the Missouri Arts Foundation (MAC). Our heartfelt gratitude to Shashikanth Gajaraj who coordinated the setup of the mesmerizing stage and decorations that brought the diversity of Karnataka to life with support from Meghana Kangati and Shruti Chinnari, who donated their time and material towards the decorations and photo booth. Our sincere gratitude to the Hindu Temple of St. Louis for letting the team borrow some of the decoration material used. 

We cannot close the morning session summary without mentioning how big a hit the lunch was – a verdant scroll of joy served on the banana leaf. Each morsel a melody, each flavor a festival. Kosambri danced beside Mango chutney and Pineapple Gojju, while Holige (Obbattu) whispered sweet secrets from ancestral kitchens. Rice mounds like sacred hills, ringed by Holige Saaru that colored the soul – a fragrant tribute to tradition, laid with love, and served with silence-breaking smiles.

The patrons dispersed for a VERY SHORT break to freshen up and dress up for the finale in the evening …

The Evening Session:

The evening buzzed with anticipation of the main event – A musical entertainment from Rajesh Krishnan and team!

The crowd of patrons braved a brief delay caused by a technical glitch to the rented sound system, with the organizing committee not wanting to start the event without a perfect sound system that would take away from the thrill of the musical evening!

The result was worth the wait …

The evening session was kicked off by the lighting of the lamp by the chief guest – the Honorable Treasurer of Missouri Shri. Vivek Malk, who also presented Sangama with a “Proclamation of the State Treasurer” for it’s four decades off service in the community (Click here to view the declaration).

Due to the delay in the start of the evening session, the scheduled facilitation of the previous 40 presidents of Sangama was postponed to be held during the continued 40th year celebration at the 2025 Nada Habba celebration.

Rajesh Krishnan’s musical team opened the evening to a rousing reception from a packed audience that had been eagerly awaiting the start. This enthusiasm did not take a respite throughout the two hours of entertaining rendition of Kannada songs by Rajesh Krishnan and team.

The event finished the way it started – with a bang! The entire auditorium dancing to some heart stopping numbers by Rajesh Krishnan and team …

An exhausted but proud group of convenor, organizing committee members and volunteers beamed at close on a successful event, while they , along with all the participants helped clean up the auditorium and went back to waiting for the next one!